Life sentence upheld in fatal Ohio school shooting

CHARDON, Ohio (AP) — A teenager who fatally shot three students in a school cafeteria didn't have his constitutional rights violated when he was given a life sentence, an appeals court said Monday while providing new details about the shooting, including the killer's assertion he was never bullied.

The court ruled unanimously to uphold the sentence handed down to T.J. Lane following the shooting at Chardon High School in northeast Ohio, saying it did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. The court also rejected arguments by Lane's attorneys that the law allowing his case to be transferred to adult court was unconstitutional.

The three-judge court also ruled that the three consecutive life sentences were justified.

Lane "did not act on impulse, on provocation, or under pressure from peers or adults," the court said. "To the contrary, he planned this attack weeks in advance before he went to school that day with a loaded gun."